Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Thanksgiving in Germany

As a wonderful thanks to some of my coworkers at the bakery, I am hosting an All American Thanksgiving dinner.  None of them have ever had a traditional Thanksgiving... and I want to show them the right way!  Our Thanksgiving won't be on Thanksgiving day, in fact, it will be about a week earlier and on a Saturday... Don't judge me, we work during the week... and we don't get the Thrusday-Friday-long-weekend-deal that you all will be getting in America.

Also, since turkeys are not on high alert in Germany during this time of year... and there's no way I can get an enormous Butterball in Bremerhaven... I need to pre-order my turkey.  Problem? Yes. First-off where am I going to find one big enough for ten people?... second... the ovens tend to run a bit small in comparison to ours in the U.S.

Solution?  I'm not sure... 2 smaller turkeys?  But then that takes away the WOW effect... What to do in my turkey dilemma...?

Now for the side dishes and pies.  I need to have mashed potatoes... CHECK! And sweet potatoes... CHECK!  And stuffing... CHECK! Apple Pie... CHECK! I made that beauty last year...

But that's not going to be enough...

Here's what I'm saying... I'm looking for some all-star Thanksgiving recipes... Give me your best of the best!


11 comments:

  1. Hey Katie!
    First thing I have to say here is: your coworkers are going to LOVE you! Seriously, the first time I hosted Thanksgiving for Germans (it's gonna be my 5th time this year!), they couldn't stop raving about it. Because, as we already know, Thanksgiving food is awesome
    2. I've gotten whole turkeys before either frozen at Metro (a big Costco-style store for companies, don't know if they have it there) or fresh (a 26-pounder last year) at a butcher shop. Yes, this was in Berlin, so they know of Thanksgiving here, but you should try asking, they might surprise you! If you need any other Thanksgiving-in-Germany tips, just ask - I've gone through all the hassles already!

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  2. Don't forget about green bean casserole.

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  3. First solution: order online. http://www.truthahnmetzgerei.de ;-)

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  4. What about the Pumpkin Pie and whipped cream? I always do 2 ten to twelve pound turkeys and it doesn't take from the wow factor. Really. Trust me on this one!!! They are much tastier too. Good luck, I can't wait to hear how it goes.

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  5. See if you can get an electric roaster for the turkey. They are usually plenty big enough for big turkeys and leave the oven free for other things. And what about scalloped corn and green bean cassorole? Those are staples on our Thanksgiving table. Oh and stuffed celery. We use flavored cream cheese. And CRANBERRIES! Some wonderful form of cranberries. I've put cranberries in sweet potatoes and stuffing and apple pie before, all good!

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  6. I agree with creamed corn and green bean casserole! I had a friend hier who had her turkey all prepared, but when it came time to cook it, it did not fit in the oven!

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  7. Oh, you should have a George Foreman turkey roaster. It is wonderful! They don't make them anymore, but I'm sure you can find one online. Really! It bakes/cooks a turkey to perfection. I have two of them! And I will not part with neither. My cousin's stop working and she wanted me to sell her my extra one. Not happening. Not in this life. Laughter!

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  8. Shirley smedley made the best stuffing,
    stale white bread, salt and peper, poultry seasoning (very important) butter and copped sweet onion.

    mix together, stuff the bird , delicious!!!!

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  9. makes 6 servings
    potatoes, yukon or russet 3 lb
    stick of butter
    salt pepper
    1 cup of half and half
    garlic heads 2 bake in foil and sprinkle with eveo

    med heat warm half and half and garlic heads
    while smashing potatoes add butter in cubes
    salt and peper to taste

    you have to eyeball the half and half did not use all of it but had to spoon garlic heads out, use all of them.

    wonderful couble the this for 10 people left overs are the best!!!!

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  10. My mom always made wild rice (sometimes with oysters). I know, it's not really traditional in the way we think of Thanksgiving, but it was a nice compliment. She often made it in place of dressing because she did not think she made good dressing, though I liked it. There was always dressing/stuffing (what ever you want to call it) at my dad's families dinner, so I was never really deprived ha.

    If you want to make dressing from scratch use old crusty bread that you can slowly dry out even more in the oven. And don't be shy with the herbs.

    Enjoy, sounds like fun! :)

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  11. Turkey isn't that unusual in Germany. It's just out of season - though you can find things like turkey breast in many restaurants. But Turkey hen is a very common Christmas food. That's usually when you can easily find whole ones

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